Corner construction for luggage frames



Nov. 27, 1956 R. FULLER GGRNGR CONSTRUCTION GGR LUGGAGE FRAMES Filed June 9, 1954 l liv/7:37012. ass Fa er j 0, 6 2 w f/ w United States Patent O CORNER CONSTRUCTION FOR LUGGAGE FRAMES Ross Fuller, Churchville, Pa.

Application June 9, 1954, Serial No. 435,433

4 Claims. (Cl. 217-65) This invention relates to a corner construction for luggage frames.

j It has heretofore been proposed to employ a frame for `luggage in the form of a tray of wood which, after assemtff'fbly, 1s covered with the desired material, such as woven fabric, synthetic plastic sheet material, and the like, and to which the customary hardware is attached.

Difficulty has been encountered with the corner constructions heretofore proposed which are too high in cost, too diihcult to assemble, weak, have fasteners which deform the covering material, or have other objections.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a corner construction for luggage frames which overcomes the objections of corner constructions heretofore available, which is relatively simple to construct and assemble and which has great strength.

lt is a further object of the present invention to provide a corner construction for luggage frames which has relatively simple yet eective components.

Itis a further object of the present invention to provide a corner construction which has both a smooth interior and exterior to which the covering material can be smoothly applied so as to enhance the appearance of the luggage.

Other objects and advantageous features of the invention will be apparent from the specification and claims.

The nature and characteristic features of the invention will be more readily understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part thereof, in which;

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a piece of luggage having the corner construction of the present invention incorporated therein; and

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken approximately on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

It should, of course, be understood that the description and drawings herein are illustrative merely, and that various modifications and changes may be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, one end of a piece of luggage is shown composed of a plurali@I of trays 10, the hardware being omitted as it forms no par-t of the present invention.

Each of the trays l() has a at wall portion 11, preferably of wood although other materials in sheet form and of the desired thickness can also be employed. The wall portion 11 has a rim 12 secured thereto at its outer margin, preferably by the application of a permanent adhesive, the rim 12 being normal to the plane of the wall portion 11.

The trays may be covered with any desired exterior covering material 13, of woven or knitted fabric, synthetic plastic sheet material, and the like, and with an interior covering material (not shown) of any desired type, the covering materials being secured to the trays 10 in any preferred manner.

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The corner construction, in accordance with the present invention has particular reference to the rim 12. The rim 12 has wall sections 15 and 16, preferably of solid strips of wood with inner plane faces 17 and 18 and outer plane faces 19 and 20. The strips 15 and 16 are normal to each other and have their ends spaced. The inner faces 17 and 18 would meet at right angles if extended but the outer faces 19 and 20 are preferably formed by cutting the same arcuately across their ends, as at 21 and 22, at the desired radius of curvature for the corner.

An insertable section 25 is provided, preferably of plywood and composed of a central core layer 26 and two outer layers 27 and 28, secured together by permanent adhesive layers 29 of glue or other resinous binder. The thickness of the layers 29 is exaggerated in the drawing for purposes of illustration. While flat sections of plywood could be used for the section 25, it is preferred to provide a preformed section in arcuate form, for greater strength and so that stresses set up by bending can be relieved by steaming and accommodated by the resinous binder. rIhe section 25 has a radius of curvature of its outer curved face 30 corresponding to that of the arcuate faces 21 and 22, so that these faces merge with the face 30, and by reason of its uniform thickness the inner curved face 31 is concentric with the outer face. The ends 32 and 33 of the section 25 are accordingly disposed in planes at right angles to each other which would intersect at the intersection of the faces 17 and 18. The ends 32 and 33 are joined and secu-red to the inner faces 17 and 18 by permanent adhesive coatings or layers 34 of glue or the like, and along one of the edges of the rim 12, the rim 12 is secured to the wall portion 11, the other faces and edge of the rim being covered as desired. The thickness of the layers 34 is exaggerated in the drawings for purposes of illustration.

The inner face 31 has the faces 17 and 18 in tangential relation thereto thus providing a smooth interior.

A joint constructed in this manner has been found to be strong, easy to put together and -to have the other advantages previously indicated.

I claim:

l. In Wooden luggage frames having a plane wall portion with a rim extending outwardly therefrom, a corner construction for said rim wherein said rim comprises a plurality of solid wood strips having inner and outer faces and their inner faces are disposed in planes normal to each other and to said wall portion, said wood strips having terminal ends in spaced relation to each other, and a continuous and smooth faced insert between and connecting said terminal ends, said insert consisting of a plurality of wood layers permanently adhesively held together and having its ends disposed in planes normal to each other, said insert having its ends in meeting relation to the inner faces of the strips and joined thereto by a permanent adhesive, the outer faces of the strips having curved portions merging with the outer face of the insert.

2. ln wooden luggage frames having a plane wall portion with a rim extending outwardly therefrom, a corner construction for said rim wherein said rim comprises a plurality of solid wood strips having inner and outer faces and their inner faces are disposed in planes normal to each other and to said Wall portion, said wood strips having terminal ends in spaced relation to each other, and a continuous smooth faced arcuate insert between and connecting said terminal ends, said insert consisting of a plurality of wood layers permanently adhesively held together and having its ends disposed in planes normal to each other, said insert having its ends in meeting relation to the inner faces of the strips and joined thereto by a permanent adhesive, the inner faces of the strips being tangential to the inner face of the insert.

3. In Wooden luggageframes having a plane Wall portion With'a rim extending outwardly therefrom, a corner construction for said rim wherein said rim comprises a plurality of solid Wood strips having inner and outerfaces and their inner faces are disposed in planes normal to each other and to said wall portion, saidwood strips hav- Y ing their terminal ends in spaced relation to each other,

and a continuous smooth faced arcuate insert between said terminal ends, said insert consisting of a plurality of `wood layers permanently adhesively held together and 10 having inner and outer concentric faces, said insert having its ends disposed in planes normal to eachother and in meeting relation to the inner faces of the strips and joined thereto by a permanent adhesive, the inner faces of the strips being tangential to the inner face of the insert 15 2,406,697

and the outer faces of the strips having portions concentrically curved and continuous with the outer face ofthe insert. Y

4. A corner construction as dened in claim 3 in which the Wood strips and the insert are of substantiallyrthe same thickness between their inner and outer faces.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

